Union Minister Muraleedharan to participate in Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day celebrations

Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will represent India at Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day celebrations and will hold bilateral meetings with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabri. Officials gave this information on Friday. Sri Lanka celebrates its Independence Day on 4 February. The country’s 75th Independence Day program will be organized in the capital Colombo on Saturday. Apart from Muraleedharan, several other foreign dignitaries including Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland will attend the main event in capital Colombo, officials said.

The security of the capital has been beefed up with the deployment of armed troops at the most popular spots in and around the suburbs of Colombo. Officials said Muraleedharan would hold bilateral meetings with Sri Lankan President Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Sabri. Muraleedharan will also interact with prominent members of the Indian expatriate community. Muraleedharan’s two-day visit reflects the deepening bilateral ties between the two countries amid the ongoing economic crisis of the island nation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi had told on Thursday that Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan would be visiting Sri Lanka on February 3 and 4, where he would attend Sri Lanka’s 75th Independence Day celebrations. Sri Lanka is currently facing a severe economic crisis and is looking forward to India’s cooperation in debt restructuring. Sri Lanka is seeking a $2.9 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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